Container comprising a CD

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a container comprising a cup-type compartment having an opening and comprising a cover to be placed on said opening, said cover having an inner component and an outer component detachably connected to said inner component, between said inner component and said outer component connected to the inner component a cavity being formed for receiving one object or more objects, said cavity comprising two main surfaces being parallel to one another. It is characterized by that the two main surfaces of the cavity are at an angle of α, wherein 0°&lt;α&lt;90° to an opening plane formed by the opening.

STATEMENT OF RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/748,438, filed Dec. 30, 2003, entitled “Container Comprising A CD”, which claims the benefit of priority of German Patent Application DE 10349192.9, filed Oct. 15, 2003 and German Patent Application DE 10351557.7. This application also claims the benefit of priority of German Patent Application DE 102004009550.7, filed Feb. 24, 2004. All of the above-referenced applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a container comprising a cup-type compartment having an opening and comprising a cover to be placed on said opening, said cover having an inner component and an outer component detachably connected to said inner component, between said inner component and said outer component connected to the inner component a cavity being formed for receiving one or more objects, said cavity comprising two main surfaces being parallel to one another. The invention further relates to a cover for such a container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND PRIOR ART

In particular in the so-called fast food sector, disposable containers are used for selling beverages. Since the consumers transport the containers with the beverages, such containers regularly have a cover. Thereby spilling of the beverage is substantially avoided. In particular in the case of cold drinks, the cover further has an opening for introducing a drinking straw. Thus a consuming person can take up the beverage without removing the cover.

In many sectors, so for instance also in the sector of fast food supply, so-called added values are desirable. In the case of the containers, this comprises the addition of objects intended for generating additional buying incentives. For this purpose, such objects have to be connected in a suitable way to the container, or integrated therein.

A container of the type mentioned above is known in the art from the document U.S. Pat. No. 6,070,752. The prior art measures provide that a cavity being coaxial with the axis of the container is disposed in the cover, and a CD is placed in said cavity. Furthermore, openings are provided in the cover, said openings being intended for introducing a drinking straw, and being in alignment with the central hole of the CD. A problem for the prior art container is that in particular in the area of the opening of the inner component, sealing measures have to be provided to prevent the beverage from entering into the cavity. A CD contaminated by beverage remainders regularly cannot be read anymore. Such sealing measures are either expensive and costly to manufacture, or are not sufficiently tight, in order to prevent beverages from entering into the cavity.

From the document U.S. Pat. No. 4,074,827, there is known in the art a drinking container also comprising a cavity in the cover for receiving objects, openings for a drinking straw being however provided outside the cavity. Thereby the cavity can be made sufficiently tight. It is disadvantageous, herein, that due to the geometric conditions caused on one hand by the size of the drinking cup and on the other hand by the size of the CD, CD's of usual size will not fit in the cavity.

It is common to the prior art containers that the main surfaces of the respective cavity are substantially parallel to the opening plane of the cup-type container.

TECHNICAL OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is the technical object of the invention to specify a container, in particular a drinking container, in the cover of which an object can be accommodated, safely protected from a splashing beverage, and said object being able to have relatively large spatial dimensions compared to the opening of the container.

BASICS OF THE INVENTION AND PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

For achieving the above technical object, the invention teaches that the two main surfaces of the cavity are at an angle of 0°<α<90° to an opening plane formed by the opening. Main surfaces are surfaces, which are relatively large, compared to other surfaces of the cavity.

The invention is based on the finding that an opening, for instance for a drinking straw, can be arranged for relatively large objects to accommodate, too, outside the cavity, if the main surfaces are inclined, and thus a surface being basically larger by the factor 1/cos(α) than the cross section of the opening is available for accommodating the cavity as well as the openings.

Preferably is 10°<α<50°, more preferably 10°<α<30°. In particular, the last-mentioned range is sufficient to provide a so-called mini CD for conventional drinking container dimensions and to have nevertheless sufficient space for an opening arranged outside the cavity.

The above geometric correlations apply in principle irrespective of the shape of the container, the shape of the opening of the container and the shape and the dimensions of the object or objects. In the case of drinking containers, the opening will however regularly be circular. The cavity will, in particular when using a CD as an object, be substantially cylindrical, and the main surfaces of the cavity will be cylinder front surfaces.

In detail it is preferred that, when the cover is put on top, the axis of the opening and the axis of the cavity are radially offset relative to one another by X=1 to 20 mm, in particular 3 to 10 mm, and are at an angle a relative to one another. This in particular permits to provide that the inner component and the outer component each comprise an aligned drinking straw opening for introducing a drinking straw into the compartment provided with the cover, the drinking straw openings being arranged outside the cavity. The drinking straw openings are arranged for instance in a section on of the cover being in an axial direction of the container farthest away from the opening of the container. Thereby measures for sealing the drinking straw opening against an introduced drinking straw can be achieved in a particularly simple way, since the probability of a very strong splashing of the beverage is rather low. It is however also possible that the drinking straw openings are arranged in a section of the cover being in an axial direction of the compartment closest to the opening.

In principle, a disk-type object placed in the cavity may be arbitrary. The term disk-type object is an object the opposite main surfaces of which are at least 10 times the other surfaces. Preferably, the disk-type object is a data carrier, such as a disk, CD, DVD etc., in particular a round or shaped CD. Shaped CD's do not have a circular periphery, compared to round CD's. For instance, two opposite segments of a circle may be cut off. Preferably, the outside diameter of the disk-type object is identical to or 1 to 5 mm smaller than the inner diameter of the cavity. The disk-type object may as well be a booklett, ticket or the like. The term disk-like does not necessarily imply that the form is circular. For example, a rectangular or square form is possible as well.

Subject matter of the invention is further a cover for a container according to the invention, wherein the cover has an inner component and an outer component detachably connected to said inner component, between said inner component and said outer component connected to the inner component a cavity being formed for receiving one or more objects, said cavity comprising two main surfaces being parallel to one another, and wherein the two main surfaces of the cavity are at an angle of 0°<α<90° to a closing plane of the cover. The term closing plane corresponds to the opening plane of the cup-type compartment. Besides, the above explanations apply in an analogous manner.

Whereas the above embodiments relate to drinking cups, it is understood that other containers may also be provided with the features of the invention. For instance, in lieu of the drinking straw openings, there may be arranged pour-out openings. Then the contents of the container may be not only a liquid, but also a solid material (capable of being poured). In lieu of the drinking straw openings, discharge openings may also be provided, through which the contents of the container may be removed by means of an eating tool, for instance a spoon or a fork. Since such a discharge opening must have a larger diameter than a drinking straw opening, the geometry of the structure representing the invention is particularly advantageous.

Containers according to the invention typically, but not necessarily are disposable products, i.e. they are thrown away after use. The compartment may in particular be made of coated paper or carton. The cover and its components typically are made of a synthetic foods compatible polymer.

A variant of the invention based on the same general concept (tilted arrangement of the object) relates to a container comprising a cup-type compartment having an opening and comprising a cover to be placed on said opening, said cover having an inner component and an outer component detachably connected to said inner component, between said inner component and said outer component connected to the inner component a cavity being formed for receiving one object or more objects, wherein the inner component or the outer component comprises a support plane for the preferably substantially disc-formed or planar object, and is characterized by that the support plane is at an angle of 0°<α<90° to an opening plane formed by the opening.

Herein also it may be provided that 3°<α<70°, preferably 10°<α<50°, most preferably 10°<α<30° applies, wherein the above limits may be combined with each other in an arbitrary manner. The container may be a beverage container. The opening may have a substantially circular cross-section and/or the cavity may have a substantially circular cross-section, referred to a cross-sectional plane being parallel to the opening. The support plane may be formed such that the support plane supports at least 10%, preferably at least 30%, most preferably 50%, in particular at least 70% of the area of the object and/or that the support plane is substantially planar. The axis A of the opening and the axis B of the cavity may be radially offset relative to one another by X=1 to 20 mm, in particular 3 to 10 mm, and may be at an angle α relative to one another. The inner component and the outer component each may comprise an aligned drinking straw opening for introducing a drinking straw into the compartment provided with the cover, the drinking straw openings being arranged outside the cavity. A disk-type object, in particular a round or shaped CD, preferably a mini CD, may be placed into the cavity. The outside diameter of the disk-type object may be identical to or 0.01 to 5 mm smaller than the inner diameter of the cavity. The disk-type object may comprise a central hole, and the support plane may comprise a substantially cylindrical pedestal for putting on or sticking on the disk-type object. The axis B of the pedestal may be parallel to the axis A of the opening or may be at an angle of α to the axis A. The drinking straw opening of the inner component may be located in a recess of the inner component ranging into the compartment. The outer component may comprise a recess area being located above the drinking straw opening and stretching substantially parallel to the axis A.

Insofar the invention further comprises a cover for a container of the aforementioned variant, wherein the cover has an inner component and an outer component detachably connected to said inner component, between said inner component and said outer component connected to the inner component a cavity is formed for receiving one or more objects, wherein the inner component and/or the outer component comprises a support plane for the object, and wherein the support plane is at an angle of 0°<α<90° to a closing plane.

In the following, the invention will be explained in more detail, with reference to drawings representing just one embodiment. There are:

FIG. 1 a cross-sectional representation of a container according to the invention,

FIG. 2 a diagrammatical representation of the geometry of the structure,

FIG. 3 a diagrammatical lateral outside view of a cover according to the invention, and

FIG. 4 a top view of an inner component of a cover according to the invention with inserted CD.

FIG. 5 a cross-sectional representation of a variant of a container according to the invention,

FIG. 6 a diagrammatical representation of the geometry of the structure according to the variant of FIG. 5,

FIG. 7 a diagrammatical lateral outside view of the variant of FIG. 5,

FIG. 8 a top view of the variant of FIG. 5, and

FIG. 9 a cross-sectional representation of a further variant of a container according to the invention.

In FIG. 1 can be seen a container 1 with a cup-type compartment 2 having an opening 3. It is not shown that a beverage is provided in the cup-type compartment 2. A cover 4 is placed on the opening 3. The cover 4 comprises an inner component 5 and an outer component 6 detachably connected to the inner component 5. Between the inner component 5 and the outer component 6 connected to the inner component 5, a cavity 7 is formed for receiving a CD 8. The inner component 5 and the outer component 6 each comprise an aligned drinking straw opening 12, 13 for introducing a drinking straw 14 into the compartment 2 provided with the cover 4. It can be seen that the drinking straw openings 12, 13 are outside the cavity 7. In the representation can further be seen that the inserted CD 8 has an outer diameter, which is only slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the cavity 7.

FIG. 9 shows a variant of the embodiment as described above. The cover 4 comprises herein three components, wherein the inner component 5 comprises two partial components 5 a and 5 b. The partial component 5 a covers the opening 3. The cavity 7 for the object 8 is located between the partial component 5 b and the outer component 6. In a preferable embodiment of this variant the partial component 5 b and the outer component 6 may be identical in form and dimensions (this is not made clear in FIG. 9 in order to distinguish these components). The partial component 5 b and the outer component 6 are attached with each other via their respective pedestals 16 a and 16 b and/or via their respective rims 19 a and 19 b (by friction or snap-on). The partial component 5 b is in turn attached to the partial component 5 a via their respective pedestals 16 a and 16 c (by friction or snap-on). This variant has advantages in the assembling process. It is possible to pre-assemble the partial component 5 b, and the outer component 6 together with the enclosed object 8. If a beverage is to be handed out to a customer, first the beverage is filled into the compartment 2. Then the partial component 5 a is put on the compartment 2. Finally, the pre-assembled part comprising the partial component 5 b, the object 8 and the outer component 6 is pressed onto the partial component 5 a, wherein the part is selected according to the object requested by the customer. Aside this, all general remarks related to other variants apply in the same manner.

In FIG. 2 are diagrammatically shown the geometric conditions of the invention. It can be seen that the cavity 7 of the cover 4 has two main planes 9, 10. These are here the cylinder front surfaces of the cavity 7. Further is diagrammatically shown the opening plane 11 formed by the opening 3. The main surfaces 9, 10 are at an angle α to the opening plane 11. By comparison of FIGS. 1 and 2, it can further be seen that, when the cover 4 is placed on top, the axis A of the (circular) openings 3 and the axis B of the (cylindrical) cavity 7 are radially offset relative to one another by the distance X. Only thereby, as is easily recognizable in FIG. 1, the arrangement of the drinking straw opening 12, 13 outside the cavity 7 being relatively large due to the dimensions of the inserted (mini) CD is made possible.

In FIG. 3 can be seen that the inner component 5 and the outer component 6 may be connected to one another by a lug 15. This is particular advantageous with regard to a simplified mounting or a simplified assembly of the cover, is however not per se necessary for the invention.

In FIG. 4 is shown a top view of an inner component 5 with inserted CD 8. From a comparison of FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, it can be seen that that the surface wherein the drinking straw opening 13 is provided, is parallel to the opening plane 11 of the opening 3. In contrast thereto, the partial surface of the inner component 5 wherein the cavity 7 is embedded, is at an angle α to the opening plane 11. It may be noted that in the view of this figure the cavity 7 and the object 8 are drawn as circles for the sake of simplicity, whereas it is evident, that these items should in fact be drawn as ellipses due to the tilt angle α.

FIG. 5 shows a further variant of a container 1 of the invention. The container 1 comprises a cup-type compartment 2 having an opening 3 and comprising a cover 4 to be placed on said opening 3, wherein said cover 4 has an inner component 5 and an outer component 6 detachably connected to said inner component 5, between said inner component 5 and said outer component 6 connected to the inner component 5 a cavity 7 being formed for receiving one object 8 or more objects 8, wherein the inner component 5 or the outer component 6 comprises a support plane 10 a for the preferably substantially disc-formed or planar object 8, and wherein the support plane 10 a is at an angle of 0°<α<90° to an opening plane 11 formed by the opening 3.

Generally, the same remarks as to the first variant apply with the following differences or additions. The opening 3 may have a substantially circular cross-section and/or the cavity 7 may have a substantially circular cross-section, referred to a cross-sectional plane being parallel to the opening 3. The support plane 10 a may be formed such that the support plane supports at least 10%, preferably at least 30%, most preferably 50%, in particular at least 70% of the area of the object 3 and/or that the support plane 10 a is substantially planar. The axis A of the opening 3 and the hereto parallel axis B of the cavity 7, which is an central axis of the disk-shaped object 8, may be radially offset relative to one another by X=1 to 20 mm, in particular 3 to 10 mm, and may be at an angle α relative to one another (when the cover 4 is put on the compartment 2).

The disk-type object 9 may comprise a central hole 15, wherein the support plane 10 a preferably comprises a substantially cylindrical pedestal 16 for putting on or sticking on the disk-type object 8. The axis B′ of the pedestal 16 may be shifted by X and/or parallel to the axis A of the opening (3) or is at an angle of a to the axis A.

The drinking straw opening 13 of the inner component 5 may be located in a recess 17 of the inner component 5 ranging into the compartment 5. The outer component 6 may comprise a recess area 18 being located above the drinking straw opening 13 and stretching substantially parallel to the axis A. The recess area 18 allows for inserting the drinking straw 14 into the drinking straw openings 12, 13 at an angle of less than 45°, in particular less than 30°, preferably less than 20°, to the axis A.

It is evident, that the cover 4 has an inner component 5 and an outer component 6 detachably connected to said inner component 5, between said inner component 5 and said outer component 6 connected to the inner component 5 a cavity 7 is formed for receiving one or more objects, wherein the inner component 5 and/or the outer component 6 comprises a support plane 10 a for the object 8, and wherein the support plane 10 a is at an angle of 0°<α<90° to a closing plane 11.

Generally, it is to be noted that the cover 4 in total, or groups of components thereof, including the object 8, e.g. as described with respect to FIG. 9, may be pre-assembled.

Further, in general the components, pre-assembled groups of components, or the pre-assembled cover 4 may be designed as to allow them to be stacked. 

1. A container comprising a cup-type compartment having an opening and comprising a cover to be placed on said opening, said cover having an inner component and an outer component detachably connected to said inner components, wherein in between said inner component and said outer component connected to the inner component, a cavity is formed for receiving one or more objects, said cavity comprising two main surfaces parallel to one another, wherein the two main surfaces of the cavity are at an angle of α, wherein 0°<α<90° to an opening plane formed by the opening.
 2. The container according to claim 1, wherein α is between 10° and 30°.
 3. The container according to claim 1, wherein the container is a beverage container.
 4. The container according to claim 1, wherein the opening has a circular cross-section.
 5. The container according to claim 1, wherein the cavity is cylindrical and the main surfaces of the cavity are cylinder front surfaces.
 6. The container according to claim 4, wherein when the cover is placed on top, the axis A of the opening and the axis B of the cavity are radially offset relative to one another by X=1 to 20 mm, and are at an angle α relative to one another.
 7. The container according to claim 1, wherein the inner component and the outer component each comprise an aligned drinking straw opening for introducing a drinking straw into the compartment provided with the cover, the drinking straw openings being arranged outside the cavity.
 8. The container according to claim 1, wherein a disk-type object, comprising a round or shaped CD, is placed into the cavity (7).
 9. The container according to claim 8, wherein the outside diameter of the disk-type object is identical to or 0.01 to 5 mm smaller than the inner diameter of the cavity.
 10. The cover for a container according to claims 1, wherein the cover has an inner component and an outer component detachably connected to said inner component, wherein in between said inner component and said outer component connected to the inner component, a cavity is formed for receiving one or more objects, said cavity comprising two main surfaces parallel to one another, and wherein the two main surfaces of the cavity are at an angle of α, wherein 0°<α<90° to an opening plane.
 11. A container comprising a cup-type compartment having an opening and comprising a cover to be placed on said opening, said cover having an inner component and an outer component detachably connected to said inner component, wherein in between said inner component and said outer component connected to the inner component a cavity is formed for receiving one or more objects, wherein the inner component or the outer component comprises a support plane for the substantially disc-formed or planar object, wherein the support plane is at an angle of α, wherein 0°<α<90° to an opening plane formed by the opening.
 12. The container according to claim 11, wherein α is between 3° and 70°.
 13. The container according to claim 11 wherein the container is a beverage container.
 14. The container according to claim 11, wherein the opening has a substantially circular cross-section or the cavity has a substantially circular cross-section, wherein a cross-sectional plane is parallel to the opening.
 15. The container according to claim 11, wherein the support plane is formed such that the support plane supports at least 10%, of the area of the object or the support plane is substantially planar.
 16. The container according to claim 14, wherein the cover is placed on top, the axis A of the opening and the axis B of the cavity are radially offset relative to one another by X=1 to 20 mm, and are at an angle α relative to one another.
 17. The container according to claim 11, wherein the inner component and the outer component each comprise an aligned drinking straw opening for introducing a drinking straw into the compartment provided with the cover, the drinking straw openings being arranged outside the cavity.
 18. The container according to claim 11, wherein a disk-type object a round or shaped CD, is placed into the cavity.
 19. The container according to claim 18, wherein the outside diameter of the disk-type object is identical to or 0.01 to 5 mm smaller than the inner diameter of the cavity.
 20. The container according to claim 18, wherein the disk-type object comprises a central hole, and wherein the support plane comprises a substantially cylindrical pedestal for placing or attaching the disk-type object.
 21. The container according to claim 20, wherein the axis B of the pedestal is parallel to the axis A of the opening or is at an angle of α to the axis A.
 22. The container according to claim 11, wherein the drinking straw opening of the inner component is located in a recess of the inner component ranging into the compartment.
 23. The container according to claim 11, wherein the outer component comprises a recess area located above the drinking straw opening and stretches substantially parallel to the axis A.
 24. The cover for a container according to claim 11, wherein the cover has an inner component and an outer component detachably connected to said inner component, between said inner component and said outer component connected to the inner component a cavity is formed for receiving one or more objects, wherein the inner component or the outer component comprises a support plane for the object, and wherein the support plane is at an angle of α, wherein 0°<α<90° to a closing plane. 